IN THE eight match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 between Australia and New Zealand at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in orange city Nagpur, Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bowl first on a cloudy morning.
Yesterday in Nagpur, there was some rain which could have motivated Ponting to bowl first. However the wicket of VCA Nagpur is dry and there is little grass on the pitcy. However, the fast bowlers might get some assistance in the morning.
Australian captain Ricky Ponting has made no changes in his team from the last match against Zimbabwe. The Aussie team defeated Zimbabwe by 91 runs in their opening match at Motera, Ahmedabad on Monday.
New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori has made one change from the last match against Kenya. The Kiwis included Right-hand batsman Jamie How in place of all-rounder Jacob Oram in this very important match against Australia in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. New Zealand won their first match against Kenya by 10 wickets in just eight overs.
In the last three ICC Cricket World Cups matches played between tthe wo countries, Australia has won on two occasions, whereas New Zealand won a match in 1999. In the 2007 World Cup in West Indies, the Aussie team defeated the Kiwis by a huge margin of 215 runs.
Here is the playing XI of South Africa and West Indies for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011:
Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Shane Watson, Brad Haddin (wk), Michael Clarke, David Hussey, Cameron White, Steve Smith, Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee, Jason Krejza, Shaun Tait.
New Zealand: Daniel Vettori (capt), Brendon McCullum (wk), Martin Guptill, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, James Franklin, Scott Styris, Jamie How, Nathan McCullum, Tim Southee, Hamish Bennett.
